单选题We can learn from the first paragraph that INS ______.

单选题What is the author' s opinion on the supposition that the homeless are primarily the former residents of mental hospitals?

单选题The author seems to believe that the Supreme Court's decision______.

单选题Scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hardwired responses. Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness. But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren"t exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we"re doing. Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long. Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understand their biases—or hire outside screeners. John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly "thin slice" information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in "thick sliced" long-term study. When Dr. Gottman rea-lly wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation: two days, not two seconds. Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: dogs can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn"t changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} Never has a straitjacket seemed so ill-fitting or so insecure. The Euro area's "Stability and Growth Pact" was supposed to stop irresponsible member states running excessive budget deficits, defined as 3% of GDP or more. Chief among the restraints was the threat of large fines if member governments breached the limit for three years in a row. For some time now, no one has seriously believed those restraints would hold. In the early hours of Tuesday November 25th, the Euro's fiscal straitjacket finally came apart at the seams. The pact's fate was sealed over an extended dinner meeting of the euro area's 12 finance ministers. They chewed over the sorry fiscal record of the Euro's two largest members, France and Germany. Both governments ran deficits of more than 3% of GDP last year and will do so again this year. Both expect to breach the limit for the third time in 2004. Earlier this year the European Commission, which polices the pact, agreed to give both countries an extra year, until 2005, to bring their deficits back into line. But it also instructed them to revisit their budget plans for 2004 and make extra cuts. France was asked to cut its underlying, cyclically adjusted deficit by a full 1% of GDP, Germany by 0.8%. Both resisted. Under the pact's hales, the commission's prescriptions have no force until formally endorsed in a vote by the Euro area's finance ministers' known as the "Eurogroup." And the votes were simply not there. Instead, the Euro-group agreed on a set of proposals of its own, drawn up by the Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremonti. France will cut its structural deficit by 0.8% of GDP next year, Germany by 0.6%. In 2005, both will bring their deficits below 3%, economic growth permitting. Nothing will enforce or guarantee this agreement except France and Germany's word. The European Central Bank (ECB) was alarmed at this outcome, the commission was dismayed, and the smaller Euro-area countries who opposed the deal were apoplectic: treaty law was giving way to the {{U}}"Franco-German steamroller,"{{/U}} as Le Figaro, a French newspaper, put it. This seething anger will sour European politics and may spill over into negotiations on a proposed EU constitution. Having thrown their weight around this week, France and Germany may find other smaller members more reluctant than ever to give ground in the negotiations on the document. Spain opposes the draft constitution because it will give it substantially less voting weight than it currently enjoys. It sided against France and Germany on Tuesday, and will point to their fiscal transgressions to show that the EU's big countries do not deserve the extra power the proposed constitution will give them.

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} School shootings across the country continue to discuss the story of the student who is outcast by fellow peers and decides to lash out. These reports may leave some wondering if ostracism is a legitimate cause for violence. Kip Williams believes it is. Williams, a professor of psychology at Purdue University, recently came to campus to speak about the effects of being ostracized. These effects can be distressing, but they often go unnoticed, he said. "I would have rather been beaten or bullied than be ignored," Williams said, reflecting on what some of the participants in his experiments felt after they were left out of a game of toss. "Even two minutes of invisibility is painful," he said. Ostracism, the act of ignoring or excluding, is a phenomenon not only found in the adult world, according to Williams. Children play simple games which leave peers out without being taught to do so. Even animals use forms of ostracism, Williams said. Lions, wolves and bees, for example, use the tactic to keep out burdensome members of their groups, which often results in death for the excluded member. Exclusion among humans can be similarly detrimental, he said. Williams conducted a computer game of toss, and showed the results for those who did not receivethe ball. Their angry, disappointed and saddened faces showed just how important inclusion is in human interaction. In another experiment, the excluded participants had no control over loud noises entering their headphones. The result was that they chose to act out against fellow participants. That lack of control is what Williams believes triggers aggression. "When control is robbed, then people don't care about how they are being liked anymore," Williams said. "They just want to establish control by being recognized. People are more likely to be violent in order to get that recognition," Williams said. His research has found that people are generally ostracized at least once a day, like the waiter who refills water glasses without notice, or the person who sits next to you on the bus without a glance. These interactions may not seem like much, but Williams asserts that even the slightest situations in which people feel invisible can have a negative impact on them. In his studies, a total of 70 percent of people said they had been given the "silent treatment" by their loved ones.

单选题"We want Singapore to have the X-factor, that buzz that you get in London, Paris, or New York." That is how Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister, (1) his government's decision to (2) gambling in the country, (3) two large, Vegas-style casinos. Whether the casinos will indeed help to transform Singapore's staid image remains to be seen. But the decision bas already (4) an uncharacteristic buzz among the country's normally (5) citizens. The government has contemplated, and rejected (6) casinos several times in the past. One reason was (7) Singapore's economic growth was so rapid that casinos seemed like an unnecessary evil. Buddhism and Islam, two of the country's main religions, (8) on gambling. The government itself has traditionally had strong, and often (9) , ideas about how its citizens should behave. Until recently, for example, it refused to (10) homosexuals to the civil service. It also used to (11) chewing gum, which it considers a public nuisance. Nowadays, (12) , Singapore's electronics industry, the mainstay of the economy, is struggling to cope with cheap competition from places like China. In the first quarter of this year, output (13) by 5.8% at an annual rate. So the government wants lo promote tourism and other services to (14) for vanishing jobs in manufacturing. Merrill Lynch, an investment bank, (15) the two proposed casinos could (16) in as much as $4 billion in the initial investment alone. (17) its estimates, they would have annual revenues of (18) $3.6 billion, and pay at least $600 million in taxes and fees. The government, for its part, thinks the integrated (19) , as it coyly calls the casinos, would (20) as many as 35,000 jobs.

单选题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) There{{U}} (1) {{/U}}not one type of reading but several according to your reasons for reading. To read carefully, you have to{{U}} (2) {{/U}}your reading speed and technique{{U}} (3) {{/U}}your aim{{U}} (4) {{/U}}reading. Skimming is a technique necessary for quick and efficient reading. When skimming, you{{U}} (5) {{/U}}the reading{{U}} (6) {{/U}}quickly in order to get the{{U}} (7) {{/U}}of it, to know how it is organized,{{U}} (8) {{/U}}an idea of the tone or the intention of the writer. Skimming is{{U}} (9) {{/U}}an activity which{{U}} (10) {{/U}}an overall view of the text and{{U}} (11) {{/U}}a definite reading competence. Skimming doesn't need reading all the material, but it doesn't mean that it is an{{U}} (12) {{/U}}skill for the lazy, because it need a high degree of alertness and concentration. When you read, you usually start with{{U}} (13) {{/U}}understanding and move towards detailed understanding rather than working the other way round. But{{U}} (14) {{/U}}is also used after you have already carefully studied and you need to{{U}} (15) {{/U}}the major ideas and concepts. In order to be able to skim quickly and{{U}} (16) {{/U}}through a text, you should know where to look for what you want. In preview skimming you read the introductory information, the headings and subheadings, and the summary, if one is provided.{{U}} (17) {{/U}}this skimming, decide whether to read the material more thoroughly, and select the appropriate speed{{U}} (18) {{/U}}you read. The same procedure{{U}} (19) {{/U}}for preview skimming could also be used to get an overview. Another method would be to read only key words. This is done by omitting the unnecessary words, phrases, and sentences. In order to skim efficiently and fulfill your purpose,{{U}} (20) {{/U}}practice is necessary.

单选题Young girls at high risk for depression appear to have a malfunctioning reward system in their brains, a new study suggests. The finding comes from research that 1 a high-risk group of 13 girls, aged 10 to 14, who were not depressed but had mothers who 2 recurrent depression and a low-risk group of 13 girls with no 3 or family history of depression. Both groups were given MRI brain 4 while completing a task that could 5 either reward or punishment. 6 with girls in the low-risk group, those in the high-risk group had 7 neural responses during both anticipation and receipt of the reward. 8 , the high-risk girls showed no 9 in an area of the brain called the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex(背侧前扣带皮质), which is believed to play a role in 10 past experiences to assist learning. The high-risk girls did have greater activation of this brain area 11 receiving punishment, compared with the other girls. The researchers said that this suggests that high-risk girls have easier time 12 information about loss and punishment than information about reward and pleasure. "Considered together with reduced activation in the striate(纹状体的)areas commonly observed 13 reward, it seems that the reward-processing system is critically 14 in daughters who are at elevated risk for depression, 15 they have not yet experienced a depressive 16 , " wrote Ian H. Gotlib, of Stanford University, and his colleagues. " 17 , hmgitudinal studies are needed to determine whether the anomalous activations 18 in this study during the processing of 19 and losses are associated with the 20 onset of depression," they" concluded. The study was published in the April of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

单选题It has been almost half a decade since Norman Mailer described leas Vegas in his novel The American Dream. But it (1) to be one of the most (2) and exhilarating (使人愉快的) holiday destinations in the world. An end-less (3) of colorful sights and activities are surrounded by skyscrapers and the magnificent Nevada desert. With (4) shopping, luxury spas, five-star dining and some of the most extravagant entertainment, you will (5) see, this is a city (6) offers an experience like no other. Perhaps the enduring appeal of this " (7) capital of the world", though, is that it always has something (8) to offer. Recently the Hard Rock Café has been (9) up its act, completing with a new 42 000 sq ft venue, 1 000-seater cinema and an "interactive rock wall"-allowing customers the chance to (10) images of Hard Rock's collection. City Center is an $ 8.5 billion (￡5.3 billion) complex on the Strip; a place that, in a city already (11) with extraordinary casinos (娱乐场) and hotels, stands out from the (12) It was the largest privately (13) construction project in the US and has three stand-alone hotels, a sprawling shopping and entertainment district and two 37-storey glass towers of (14) flats, designed by the likes of Norman Foster. Another Las Vegas (15) , Planet Hollywood, has (16) with luxury developers to create Westgate Towers--where you could own a piece of the action and a chance to come back to Las Vegas every year. (17) , the only thing you'll (18) of in Vegas is not knowing which club, restaurant or spa to choose from. But then you can always ask a(n) (19) or the concierge--the fantastic thing about this city is that its residents (20) it as much as you will.

单选题Selection to participate in a top executive-education program is an important rung on the ladder to top corporate jobs. U. S. corporations (1) billions of dollars in this form of management development -- and use it to (2) and train fast-track managers. Yet one (3) of executive education found that less than 5% of the managers (4) to these high-profile programs are women -- and minorities are terribly (5) as well. The numbers are (6) . In regular business (7) usually paid for by the participant, not an employer -- there are plenty of women and minorities. Women, for example, (8) for about 30% of MBA candidates. Yet in the (9) programs paid for by corporations that round out a manager's credentials at a (10) career point, usually at age 40 or 45, companies are making only a (11) investment in developing female and minority executives. A case (12) point: Only about 30% of the 180 executives in Stanford's recent (13) management program were women. Most companies say these days they are (14) hiring and promoting women and minorities-- and there are some (15) trends in overall employment and pay levels so why are companies (16) the ball when it (17) executive education? The schools (18) that they are neither the cause of nor the cure for the problem. A Harvard Business School dean figures that companies are (19) of sending their female executives (20) they don't want to lose them to competitors.

单选题Conservatism, George Will told me when I interviewed him many years ago, was rooted in reality. It started not from an imagined society but from the world as it actually exists. But conservatives now champion ideas drawn from abstract principles with little regard to the realities of America's present or past. This is a tragedy, because conservatism has an important role to play in modernizing the U. S. Consider the debates over the economy. The Republican prescription is to cut taxes and slash government spending, but what is the evidence that tax cuts are the best path to revive the U. S. economy? Taxes as a percentage of GDP are at their lowest level since 1950. The U. S. is among the lowest taxed of the big industrial economies. So the case that America is grinding to a halt because of high taxation is not based on facts but is simply a theoretical assertion. The rich countries that are in the best shape right now, with strong growth and low unemployment, are ones like Germany and Denmark, neither one characterized by low taxes. In fact, right now any discussion of government involvement in the economy—even to build vital infrastructure—is impossible because it is a cardinal tenet of the new conservatism that such involvement is always and forever bad. Meanwhile, across the globe, from Singapore to South Korea to Germany to Canada, evidence abounds that some strategic actions by the government can act as catalysts for free-market growth. Of course, American history suggests that as well. In the 1950s, '60s and '70s, the U.S. government made massive investments in science and technology, in state universities and in infant industries. Those investments triggered two generations of economic growth and put the U. S. on top of the world of technology and innovation. But that history has been forgotten. When considering health care, for example, Republicans confidently assert that their ideas will lower costs, when we simply do not have much evidence for this. What we do know is that of the world's richest countries, the U.S. has by far the greatest involvement of free markets and the private sector in health care. It also consumes the largest share of GDP, with no significant gains in health on any measurable outcome. We need more market mechanisms to cut medical costs, but Republicans don't bother to study existing health care systems anywhere else in the world. "I know it works in practice," the old saw goes, "but does it work in theory?" Conservatives used to be the ones with heads firmly based in reality. Their reforms were powerful because they used the market, streamlined government and empowered individuals. We need conservative ideas to modernize the U. S. economy and reform American government. But what we have instead are policies that don't reform but just cut and starve government—a strategy that pays little attention to history or best practices from around the world and is based instead on a theory.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Healthy soda? That may strike some as an oxymoron. But for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. it's a marketing opportunity. In coming months, both companies will introduce new carbonated drinks that are fortified with vitamins and minerals: Diet Coke Plus and Tava, which is PepsiCo's new offering. They will be promoted as "sparkling beverages." The companies are not tailing them soft drinks because people are turning away from traditional soda, which has been hurt in part by publicity about its link to obesity. While the soda business remains a $68 billion industry in the United States, consumers are increasingly reaching for bottled water, sparkling juices and green tea drinks. Irr'2005. the mount of soda sold in this country dropped for the first time in recent history. Even the diet soda business has slowed. Coca-Cola's chief executive. E. Neville Isdell. clearly frustrated that his industry has been singled out in the obesity debate, insisted at a recent conference that his diet products should be included in the health and wellness category because, with few or no calories, they are a logical answer m expanding waistlines. "Diet and light brands are actually health and wellness brands," Mr. Isdell said. He asserted that Diet Coke Plus was a way to broaden the category to attact new consumers. Tom Pirko. president of Bevmark, a food and beverage consulting firm, said it was "a joke" to market artificially sweetened soft drinks as healthy, even if they were fortified with vitamins and minerals. Research by his firm and others shows that consumers think of diet soft drinks as "the antithesis of healthy," he said. These consumers "comment on putting something synthetic and not natural into their bodies when they consume diet colas," Mr. Pirko said. "And in the midst of a health and welfare boom, that ain't good." The idea of healthy soda is not entirely new. In 2004, Cadbury Schweppes caused a stir when it unveiled 7Up Plus, a low-calorie soda fortified with vitamins and minerals. Last year, Cadbury tried to extend the healthy halo over its regular 7Up brand by labeling it "100 percent natural." But the company changed the label to "100 percent natural flavor" after complaints from a nutrition group that a product containing high-fructose com syrup should not be considered natural, and 7Up Plus has floundered. The new fortified soft drinks earned grudging approval from Michael F. Jacobsen, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. a nutrition advocacy group and frequent critic of regular soft drinks, which it has labeled "liquid candy." A survey by Morgan Stanley found that only 10 percent of consumers interviewed in 2006 considered diet colas a healthy choice, compared with 14 percent in 2003. Furthermore, 30 percent of the consumers who were interviewed last year said that they were reluctant to drink beverages with artificial sweeteners, up from 21 percent in 2004.

单选题Two years ago, Rupert Murdoch"s daughter, Elisabeth, spoke of the "unsettling dearth of integrity across so many of our institutions". Integrity had collapsed, she argued, because of a collective acceptance that the only "sorting mechanism" in society should be profit and the market. But "it"s us, human beings, we the people who create the society we want, not profit". Driving her point home, she continued: "It"s increasingly apparent that the absence of purpose, of a moral language within government, media or business could become one of the most dangerous goals for capitalism and freedom." This same absence of moral purpose was wounding companies such as News International, she thought, making it more likely that it would lose its way as it had with widespread illegal telephone hacking. As the hacking trial concludes—finding guilty one ex-editor of the News of the World , Andy Coulson, for conspiring to hack phones, and finding his predecessor, Rebekah Brooks, innocent of the same charge—the wider issue of dearth of integrity still stands. Journalists are known to have hacked the phones of up to 5,500 people. This is hacking on an industrial scale, as was acknowledged by Glenn Mulcaire, the man hired by the News of the World in 2001 to be the point person for phone hacking. Others await trial. This long story still unfolds. In many respects, the dearth of moral purpose frames not only the fact of such widespread phone hacking but the terms on which the trial took place. One of the astonishing revelations was how little Rebekah Brooks knew of what went on in her newsroom, how little she thought to ask and the fact that she never inquired how the stories arrived. The core of her successful defence was that she knew nothing. In today"s world, it has become normal that well-paid executives should not be accountable for what happens in the organisations that they run. Perhaps we should not be so surprised. For a generation, the collective doctrine has been that the sorting mechanism of society should be profit. The words that have mattered are efficiency, flexibility, shareholder value, business-friendly, wealth generation, sales, impact and, in newspapers, circulation. Words degraded to the margin have been justice, fairness, tolerance, proportionality and accountability. The purpose of editing the News of the World was not to promote reader understanding, to be fair in what was written or to betray any common humanity. It was to ruin lives in the quest for circulation and impact. Ms Brooks may or may not have had suspicions about how her journalists got their stories, but she asked no questions, gave no instruction—nor received traceable, recorded answers.